


burn with me tonight

by reinacadeea



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-11 14:12:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4438562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinacadeea/pseuds/reinacadeea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During Paddy's night at hospital, Robert comes to check up on Aaron...</p>
<p>also, the last good before the bad</p>
            </blockquote>





	burn with me tonight

**Author's Note:**

> I'm taking a break from my other fics to bring you this sad thing. 
> 
> enjoy

I'll call you, yeah, Robert says on the other end of the phone and for some reason Aaron knows he will.

It's just a weird constant thing, Robert coming around when he least expects it. But the sex - that part he had been expecting. There is something so powerful about pushing Robert to his knees, lips red from a proper snog, eyes hooded and knowing it's all him. Robert never says no, not when Chrissie is breathing down his neck or Chas sneers at him. Not even when Aaron's shown him nothing but contempt for weeks.

Robert wants him.

It's after midnight before his phone lights up again and his heart does that weird fluttering thing it hasn't done for ages.

I'm in the cafeteria, Robert writes. Come down?

Aaron gives his sleeping mum a guilty look and stuffs his hands in his pockets, slowly descending downstairs. Hospitals are cold inhuman buildings and he's got a constant chill down his spine, partly from remembering hours watching over Jackson and his own traumatising visits.

They disappear when he sees Robert coming towards him and guides him into a warm and comforting hug. He smells of too much whisky and probably shouldn't have been driving. His mind flashes to Daisy the Dog and her untimely death by the hands of a drunkard... Robert's no drunk and Aaron appreciate he's here more.

"You shouldn't be here," he says.

Robert doesn't let go of him for a bit. "Needed to, I guess. How are you?"

"Paddy's pretty ba..."

Robert interrupts him quickly. "I didn't ask about him."

Aaron can feel his shoulders sag and allows Robert to guide him towards a chair. Robert pulls another chair so close their thighs are touching and allows Aaron to lean forward while he chokes back sobs wrecking his body. He can hear Robert whispering comforting things into his ear, things that slowly makes him feel better.

"You want Earl Grey?" Robert asks when Aaron finally forces his body to relax, one number at the time.

He nods and tracks Robert's movement through the cafeteria. He seems too large, too powerful and full of life to be here in the middle of the night. Robert should be seen in the morning light, bright and early when his eyes are still hooded from sleep, movements lazy and slow. He never says anything stupid then.

He startles when Robert returns, plastic cups in each hand and a tentative smile on his lips.

"Thanks for coming," Aaron tells him honestly.

Robert touches his palm and runs his fingers over the visible veins on Aaron's wrist. "It's been nice talking to you again," he says voice warm, soothing the frayed nerves of Aaron's mind.

Aaron thinks about working side-by-side with him, Robert relaxed and his smile and laughs coming easy without their usual double entendres.

He thinks about Andy looking at them both confused and asking when they became such good friends.

"Scrap yard," Robert lied and changed the subject quicker than fire.

Friends, yeah maybe once upon a time they could have been if desire hadn't grabbed hold of them and changed their lives.

"I don't like it when you're this quiet," Robert says softly. "When you're quiet you always break up with me."

Aaron can't keep his amusement inside and snorts surprised. "No," he says. "Not today."

Robert looks strangely relieved and pushes his chair closer, pulling an arm around Aaron's chair, pushing them together.

Around two am, they've started their third crossword puzzle, softly ripping each other when they don't agree, Robert gently telling Aaron his spelling is atrocious and tugging the biro out of his hand to correct his letters.

"Aaron," Robert asks and Aaron looks up at him. "What's changed?"

His mind flashes to Cain beating Robert up, feeling his stomach implode and quiver uncomfortably. He thinks about Robert's heavy breathing in the car and the way his body curved in on itself when they reached Home Farm. He thinks about Robert in his borrowed overalls and tries to imagine a young Robert with a permanent scowl on his face, thinking there was more to life than Butler's. How life goes full circle sometimes.

"I'm so tired of always fighting," Aaron replies.

Robert grips his shoulder. "Well, thanks for giving me my best friend back."

"What?" Aaron asks surprised.

Robert doesn't say anything and looks pointedly away.

Aaron pulls him down for a kiss, pressing their tongues together. He can feel Robert sighing into it, responding to it easily and coming together like old-new lovers. Their tryst in the portacabin seems like ages ago, filled in equal parts with defiance and welcome back (God, I've missed this, Robert had whispered when he rolled Aaron onto his back.

Not quite, Aaron had replied and ducked down for another kiss.)

Friends, yeah, he supposes he's Robert's friend. He can't be his lover for much longer before his conscious starts snapping into place and all their old problems scrambles back to the surface. But he can take this, revel in it before it turns sour. It’s been a learning curve and he knows how it goes. He wonders if he can call Robert a friend, someone he can rely on and trust like Robert does him. 

He’s sat with Aaron now though, trying and failing to look like he doesn’t want to be there. It’s contradictory that he’s got a firm hold on Aaron’s hand, fingers locked together in support and show of affection. 

“I better go back up,” Aaron tells him softly, stroking his fingers over Robert’s thumb. “Mum’ll come looking.”

Robert huffs. “Can’t have that.” 

They sit together in silence for a bit before Aaron finally gathers up enough strength to lift himself out off the chair. He runs his hand through his hair, still feeling somewhat wrung out, eyes itching with crying for hours. 

“Aaron,” Robert says very softly. 

“Hmm?”

Robert looks like a lost child, his hair messy from Aaron running his hands through it and clothes wrinkled from sitting almost on top of each other for hours. “Can you promise me something?”

“Maybe,” Aaron says honestly. Robert has asked so many things from him, some so brutal he nearly ran himself to death – others so small and insignificant that he gives them easily. All he has in him is a ‘maybe’.

“I love you, okay? No matter what happens in the future between us, remember that I’ve fallen in love with you,” Robert says, voice small. 

Aaron frowns and wonders briefly why it matters. They may be on good terms right now, but it’s not intense like that right now. They have just reconnected, just started texting a bit and just started associating each other with something other than bitterness. It’s a bit out of nowhere really.

“Robert…” he says, hesitating. 

Robert stands up and pulls him into another hug. 

“I’ll remember,” Aaron says when they pull apart and he can feel Robert’s heavy stare on his back as he slowly tracks back up to Paddy’s room. 

He watches Paddy sleeping soundly, high on morphine or some other wonder drug, and startles when his mum coughs behind him. 

“You all right, love?” she says, voice a bit rougher than usual. 

“Yeah,” he mumbles and pulls his chair closer to hers. 

Her mascara is smudged, her eyes tired and hair in a messy bun on the top of her head. He’s never seen her more real. She puts her hand on his knee and he takes her comfort just like he took Robert’s – sure in the fact that people care about him like he cares about Paddy, about his mum… right now he’s not alone. 

 

End 27-7-2015

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on tumblr as reinacadeea well. leave me a comment here or there and it'll make my day


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